Watch out Google, Bing is taking aim at your shopping site. A new campaign launched by the 2nd largest search engine called Scroogle is geared to bring ‘awareness’ to users and merchants about the recently updated Google Shopping platform.

Basically, Bing is warning users not to get Scroogled this holiday season through Google Shopping’s paid ads. Of course they provide an alternative, search using an “honest search engine” in Bing! The video below explains more:

So what changed at Google Shopping?
Many merchants have been using Google Product Search for nearly a decade to index their ecommerce and business websites in order to gain a considerable raise in their website traffic.

However, in May many advertisers where caught by surprise when Google introduced a pay-per-play set-up to the system. Basically, for a merchant do insure his website appears at the top of the list he has to pay for the ads. Now called “Product Listing Ads (PLA’s), these are advertisements that provide detailed descriptions of the products while also providing pictures.

Bing’s goal is to ‘open the eyes’ of searchers to show them that Google Shopping has now become a paid engine and that the results that appear at the top aren’t necessarily the cheapest, but simply those who’s company was willing to pay the highest to be there.

Who has the voice of reason, Bing or Google?
While this sounds like a good way for Bing to “get one up” on Google, there is one thing to remember: Bing does this exact same thing with it’s shopping results! According to SearchEngine Land:

If you’re a merchant, and you know where to look (a place a consumer almost certainly won’t stumble upon), you get to a page about getting listed in Bing Shopping.

The page highlights that there is currently only one way to get listed in Bing Shopping, which is to submit to Shopping.com, which lists people who agree to pay. In other words, if you want to be in Bing, you have to pay — exactly like Google. Moreover, the page says that merchants doing this will get:

Higher visibility: Paid offers will be highlighted throughout Bing Shopping, including search result and product pages.

Higher visibility in search results? You mean you’ll rank better in search results, by paying to be listed? In the search results that Bing just told consumers that payment isn’t a factor?

For consumers, what this all comes down to is taking care when searching for products this holiday season. If you are an E-commerce merchant compare the benefits of both search engines and choose the one that offers the most benefit to you. You’re the only person who can ensure you don’t get “Scroogled” by either Bing or Google!